Try To Get Through, I Dare You
by BlackSkinnyJeans101
Summary: Maximum Martinez has always put her friends first, so she pushes them away when her life falls complicated. Now a man is after her after a failed mission, but Fang Ride can't seem to take Max's hint. The rest of her friends try to pry back into her life until something drastic happens. Max tries to forget about it again but she soon finds out that she can't hide anymore. *ON PAUSE*
1. Chapter 1

_Try To Get Through, I Dare You_

_ONE_

"Fang get up! You'll be late for your first day of school!"

I groaned and roll over onto my stomach, pulling my pillow tighter over my head to try and block out my mother shrieking at me. The door to my bedroom swung open and light footsteps ran across the carpeted floor; something pounced onto my back. It continued to hop on my back, but my only response was a muffled answer from under my incredibly comfortable pillow. Another set of feet ran across the floor and joined the thing hopping on my back; I grunted as they jumped together. A bruise would form if I didn't do something about these things now.

"Angel, Gazzy get off of me," I make up from beneath my pillow and I roll over so they fall to the floor of my room. They both cry out in protest and I resist from snickering at them; my dad would only get angrier at me; I've already yelled at his new wife.

"Morning, Fangy! Mommy said to get up!" Angel, my younger half-sister, squeals happily up at me from her place on the floor. Her blonde ringlets seemed to make some sort of halo around her head and her baby blue eyes seemed so innocent even for a six-year-old.

I reply sarcastically, "Really, you don't say?" and I push some black hair away from in front of my eyes irritatingly. Sometimes I think people are trying to annoy me by saying things I was already told two minutes before.

Gazzy, Angel's twin, adds, "Yeah, breakfast is ready and Mom wants you down there, now," he crosses his arms after getting to his feet. Unlike Angel, his light blue eyes hold mischief and a cleverness no one would want against them, but with them.

They leave my new room while I head to my bathroom and start the water; I strip off my clothes and step into the hot water. After about ten minutes I step back out with a towel wrapped around my waist and I walk over to my suitcases. Yesterday I arrived here in oh-so-sunny Tennessee for my dad's girlfriend and her two kids since they have a larger house than we do. Today I'm starting Northwest High School and my dad is expecting me to fit right in and become the football captain like I was back in California. Well, newsflash, it isn't that easy.

I change into dark wash jeans, some black combat boots, a dark blue jacket, and a black leather jacket before starting downstairs. On my way, I towel-dry my raven black hair and blink my obsidian eyes multiple times to get myself to wake up. My new step-mom, Valencia, stands at the stove, cooking what smelled a lot like bacon with some eggs on the side. It was seven-fourteen and my first class starts at seven-thirty; I decided I could leave in ten minutes or so. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a very elaborate bun and her brown eyes looked welcoming but no one could be better than my mom.

"Good morning, Nicholas!" Valencia grins at me and fixes a plate piled high with bacon, toast, eggs, and a couple waffles with syrup. "So you're all registered and a son of my friend will meet you at the front door to show you around today until you get a feel of things. All of your teachers are friends of mine so you really shouldn't have a problem today other than finding a few friends. But you don't need to worry because everyone is friendly around here," she continues to babble as I take the plate from her and sit down at the dining room table.

She's always called me Nicholas even though I've insisted I'm called Fang now; that was one of the reasons I yelled at her yesterday. "Thanks, Valencia," I mumble before chugging down a glass of milk and standing from my seat to put my plate in the sink. "Tell my dad I said bye," I tell her shortly then leave the house with my keys jingling in my left hand on the way.

There, sitting in the old and dusty garage, is my brand new black ninja motorcycle with shining everything, even the tires look like they're shining. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point of how clean I keep my baby; yes, I do call it my baby so get used to it. I throw my leg over the side of it and rev the engine; I walk it slowly out of the garage and use the clicker to close the garage door behind me. Without a look behind me, I put on my dark blue helmet and ride to my new high school a few blocks away from my new house. Usually I ride without a helmet but my dad is currently being the over-protective parent I never wanted in my life.

I pull into the school parking lot not ten minutes later and I park as close to the building as I can get without getting too much attention. That, apparently, isn't going to happen because as soon as I pull in almost every pair of eyes in the parking lot turn on me. I get off of my bike and set my helmet on the back seat; I lock it down with some cords and I flip some hair out of my eyes. A few girls sitting in the bed of a truck nearby sigh dreamily; I ignore them like I always do and start for the front door of the high school. A few jocks and cheerleaders sat nearby on the stairs, taunting nerds as they passed to get into the school building.

"You must be Nicholas!" some strawberry-blonde haired kid exclaimed as I approached the building slowly, cautiously since the cheerleader were already swooning on the spot. I eyed him as his icy blue eyes stared right back at me; I figured this must be the son Valencia was talking about.

I reply, "It's Fang," and he blinks a few times before grinning and ushering me into the high school; I gave him a look but walked into the school.

"And I am the Igmister, the Igniter, the Iggy," he holds out a hand and I wearily shake his hand as he rounds a corner and I follow. "Anyways, welcome to Northwest High, home of the legendary Black Panthers," he grins again and I wonder how cheery this guy could get. "Now as you look that way you'll see-," he starts but someone interrupts him before he can begin to finish.

"Oh please, Iggy, not this again," a girl appears at his side and rolls her eyes then she gives me a bright smile. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a curly ponytail, her dark brown doe eyes were as innocent as Angel's, and her mocha-toned skin was milky and clean. "I'm Nudge, please ignore my friend here, he thinks he's the most amazing human being on the face of the earth."

Iggy feigns hurt, "I do not!" he protests but then a sly smile spreads across his face, "Okay so maybe I do a little bit." Nudge laughs and shakes her head while Iggy starts to point out the cliques of this high school, "Those are the sluts," he points to a group in the corner of the hallway. A group of giggling girls that wave at us as we pass; Iggy winks at them and then rolls his eyes as they squeal and smile flirtatiously back at him.

He continues, "Those are the idiots, cheerleaders, band geeks, chorus folks, nerds, loners, skateboarders, cutters, gang members, outcasts, and slackers." Every time he says a group, he points to a bunch of people all around the hallways that we walk through as a trio. Then one girl pushes through the double doors and everyone, including Iggy and Nudge, spreads out of her way.

Iggy grabs my arm and jerks me out of the hall as the girl walks through the hallway with her thumbs in her back pockets. Her flowing brown-highlighted blonde hair reached about mid-back and her electric blue eyes stayed trained right ahead of her. She wore a loose gray tank-top with a black skull on the front and dark-wash jeans with rips all through them. On her left wrist was a leather bracelet with some kind of symbol embedded in it and multiple rings lined her fingers. Her black high-tops were muddy and had odd red stains on them; her eyes flickered and met mine briefly.

She slowed her pace, shook her head slightly, and ripped her eyes away from mine again to pass through the hall and turn down another. "Who was that?" I ask Iggy when her blonde hair was out of sight and everyone went back to what they were doing. The hall was eerily silent the whole time and then they went back to what they were doing as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"That, my friend, was Maximum Martinez, also known as Ninja," Iggy says and swings open a locker with my locker combination. I turned my attention back to Iggy as he talks about my classes and his other friends; my mind stayed on that oddly familiar girl, though.


	2. Chapter 2

_Try To Get Through, I Dare You_

_Two_

"What do you think I'm running? A fun training camp where we all skip around singing about unicorns? Get your head into the game or leave," I glared harshly at my new-bee; she nodded quickly and joined the rest of my team. What do you expect from none other than me, Maximum Martinez when it came to my team? "Good, now I want all of you to tell me the names you came up for yourselves like I told you to. No one outside of the business can know who you are."

An older guy that looked way too buff raised his hand slightly; I pointed on him with a roll of my electric blue eyes. "Ninja, I hate to break it to you, but your old friends know who you are," he points out and I glare swords at him; he flinches noticeably.

"Old friends, yes, but they swore to keep it a secret after I threatened them, now shut it and give me fifty," I growled dangerously. He drops to the ground and starts doing pushups; I set my high-top on his back and push harder every time he comes up. "Listen up, you're all on my team, you're in my gang, and you listen to me or you get killed, got it?" I looked around at the people my age and older in a line.

There were seven trying to impress me this time but I was only allowing five to come into my gang with me. Two were girls; both skinny and it need of new clothes and a lot of food, but both with good talents that could come in handy. The other five were guys that looked so intimidated by me that I wanted to laugh and get all of them to do pushups. I couldn't do that, however, if I wanted my team for this little… assignment I was handed by some guys with a lot of power. He wasn't in a gang but he was dangerous, not as dangerous as me, but he had money and that's exactly what I wanted more of at the moment.

"What's your name?" I snap down at the boy struggling under my foot to push back up for his forty-ninth pushup; he impressed me but I wouldn't say that out loud, ever. He looked up, his dark brown hair falling into his hazel eyes; he looked way too innocent to be a part of my gang.

"Billy," he stated; I cackled and push harder on the sensitive part of back I had my shoe pushing down on roughly.

"Wrong, try again," I growl, my eyes narrowed while the others watched; either grinning broadly or trembling slightly. The guy under my foot, Billy, gasped out as I didn't let up and I stated, "You're now Bone, go stand over there. Your name gets tougher the more you impress me, just so you know," I took my foot off his back and he stood slowly to his feet. He glided over to the back wall and leant against it, trying to catch his breath; I smirked and turned to the others.

A half hour later I had five of the seven teens leaning against the back wall, waiting for their next instructions on their part of this mission. There was a girl nicknamed Blessed with black hair tugged into a loose bun and she had strange bright, grass-green eyes. Beside her was the other girl nicknamed Minnie with curly blonde hair and large, innocent baby gray-blue eyes. Bone was beside a guy with copper hair, brown eyes and we all nicknamed him Copper. The last guy had blonde hair and odd-looking gray eyes that made us decide to nickname him Ice, for now.

"Listen up, I want Blessed to pick the lock on the front gate, and Ice you make sure to get to the security system to shut it down as soon as that door swings open." I use my finger to tap on the security and landscape plan I managed to sneak out of the welcome building downtown. "Bone you're going to find anyone that could be a problem if they saw us, Copper you get my back in case anyone sneaks up, and Minnie you're going to check out the upstairs since you're the quietest out of Ice and Blessed. I would do it, but I plan on taking out any security, or household members we might accidently pass. Everyone got it?"

Mouse mutters, "How are we supposed to pull this off?" and her young 15-year-old eyes look up from the map to look at me curiously. She was in this for the money it would bring her in the long run after we get through a few of my current missions.

"We will as long as you stick to my plan, I don't let my people fall behind, get it?" I state and they all slowly nod together. "Great, change into the things I told you to bring and then meet me downstairs so we can get going," they break off to grab their stuff.

I change into my regular plain black leather pants, a black long-sleeved top with my dark red gang symbol on the front, and my knee-high black converse. The others jog downstairs, all wearing completely black clothing before we leave the warehouse and starting for the largest house around town. Word on the street is they have a couple new occupants in the house with the now-married mom and her two kids. This mission was focused solely on finding the diary of the mom's great-great-grandmother, who apparently lived during some important event. It wasn't my job to ask, just collect and that's exactly what I was going to accomplish.

/\/\AXI/\/\U/\/\ RIDE

We arrived at the house's gate only five minutes later from the walk through the woods and straight to the huge mansion. Blessed used her amazing picking lock skills to unlock the gate from the outside and she slowly creaked one of them open. We all slipped in and made sure to stick a brick I brought between the double doors of the gate to keep one cracked open. Without speaking, I nudged Bone and walked him through the shadows and up to the front door, not seeing any guards roaming around. That was odd considering the very many mansions that I've broken into always at least had ten guards roaming around. Yeah, these people were that rich.

Blessed picked the lock on the window leading into a kitchen and Ice slid in first to go with Blessed to find the security system. Copper followed me through and then Bone came in last, sticking a brick under the window so we could use it in a fight or flight situation. Minnie tip-toed up the amazing staircase to the next floor and started to peak into bedrooms; I pointed to a black door then moved my finger to Bone. He peaked into the room, shook his head at me, then moved to the other rooms; I motioned to Copper to follow me and he obliged.

We pushed into a room with two, floor to ceiling double doors and I strode across the room to a large painting of the mother of the house. I pulled on my black leather gloves and fixed my black mask to make sure it would stay on if I climbed the wall to get to the painting. Copper watched as I grabbed the fireplace mantle and expertly hauled my first foot up onto the marble, careful to avoid the family pictures covering it. I ran my fingers delicately over the edges and corners of the painting until I felt the loose piece hanging. I jerked my arms and the frame gave way to show a knob stuck on the edge of the painting stuck to a metal door.

"Hold this," I mutter and pass down the frame; Copper catches it as I press my stethoscope end to the door right above the knob. I twist and turn it, listening for the click telling me I hit a correct number and I kept going under a loud clack sounded. The handle to the door turned easily and I swing open the door, careful to make sure the door didn't hit the wall. Inside of the safe was a small, fake crystal unicorn with a sticky-note stuck to the stomach but it was blank.

"Anything?" Copper whispered up to me but I only shook my head and shut the door again, putting it back on the number it started with. This wasn't going like I planned it was supposed to go; now I had to search the rest of the house for the stupid little book.

"Damn," I cursed as I fixed the frame back the way it was and hopped down, landing lightly on my feet, not making a sound. There's a reason the rest of the gang's called me Ninja; I grab Copper by the arm and tell him to help me search around the living room. He heads over to the window and starts to feel around to see if it was stuck in a hidden crevice; I started on the other side of the large room.

Minnie slowly, quietly walked into the room and whispered close to my ear, "All of the owners of the house are sound asleep. Did you find the safe?"

"Yeah," I whispered back bitterly, "The stupid thing isn't in there, we have to go check the other rooms or we're all dead meat." She nods and scurries off to tell the others, Copper and I leave the living room and go down different halls after a silent argument.

This had to work, or they would never trust me again and I'd get killed by myself. I breathed out and pushed open the door to the first room.


	3. Chapter 3

_Try To Get Through, I Dare You_

_Three_

No one was inside of the first room I checked and it was completely empty except for some white sheets thrown over the hard-wood floor. They had paint splatters so I figured they put them down so they could paint the room; they probably moved the expensive furniture out so they could paint without risking stains. I lifted every sheet and picked at any creaking floorboards to make sure it wasn't hidden underground or something. Nothing was in the small closet or room except cobwebs and it was the same thing for the next three rooms until I got to a pink door. Taking a short breath, I pushed open the hot-pink door and stuck my head through the crack I made large enough to fit my head in.

A little girl with curly blonde hair and shut eyes was fast asleep on the bed, a teddy bear with white wings hugged to her chest. There was a pain in my chest of how I thought about my dead little sister eight feet underground and winced a little. I knew this little girl, yes, she's one of the kids I used to babysit before they moved and became rich and snobby. This was before my siblings died and my dad abandoned me while my mom turned into a druggie and only stayed sober long enough to go to work and pay bills. Angel stayed still and silent as I crept into her bedroom and started to search around, making sure her mom didn't hide it in her room. Everything checked out except for the pounds of stuffed animals hanging in a hammock above Angel's bed like she always wanted.

Out of all the stuffed animals the old, raggedy bear in Angel's arms was the one I gave her when she was just three months old. Now she's six and I'm eighteen; I smile slightly at the memories; I shake my head sharply, putting on my badass look again. I walk around to the side of Angel's bed and I stand on the small stool to put my hand into the mass of stuffed animals. Struggling to stay balanced, I found nothing and dropped heavily back down on the carpeted floor; I bite down on my bottom lip at the pain. Angel shifts in her bed and starts to sit up; I widen my eyes and roll straight under her bed like the freaking boogey-man.

"Mommy?" Angel asks sleepily, looking around at her room wondering if anyone had entered and fell but of course she was oblivious. "Gazzy this isn't funny," she swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood; stalking out into the hallway, her bear, Celeste, clutched to her chest. Suddenly there was a thump and muffled crying; I got up and rushed out to the hallway without thinking about it first.

She gasped when she looked up and saw me coming towards her where she was stuck with her ankle through a thin board. I pressed my finger to my lips and she nodded slightly, tears welling in her eyes at the pain in her foot and ankle. With hesitation, I got down on my knees beside her and pulled a knife out of my left boot; she stared at it in horror. I almost smiled, but instead I sawed away at the very thin would and it snapped in half until her ankle was free. She stays still as I tear off the end of my tank-top under my black shirt and I delicately wrapped up her ankle expertly from the injuries my own siblings used to get.

"Who are you? Are you my angel? Are you here to help me?" Angel whispers as I lay her back down on her bed and very delicately press two fingers to the base of her neck. I mutter an apology as she gasps and falls out-cold; I pull her comforter up to her neck and lay a kiss on her forehead like I always used to do. I straighten up, put on my emotionless façade, before leaving her bedroom and starting down the hallway just to run into someone.

Copper jerked his head behind him and I nodded, straightening back into my awesome leader attitude; we started for the stairs. We walked up quietly and peaked into the first room where I knew Angel's brother, Gazzy, would be staying now. Sure enough, the blonde-haired boy slept on his bed soundly; I rolled my eyes and motioned for Copper to go to another room. He nodded and walked back out and to the room next door; I ventured farther into the room. That same nose-bleeding stench flew into my nose making me gag; there's a reason I nick-named him Gazzy during my babysitting days.

Nothing turned up so I walked farther down the hallway, checking rooms until I found Minnie, Bone, Blessed, Copper, and Ice all together in one room. They were tied up together with someone standing over them, holding something that glinted from the moonlight flitting through the open window. The person didn't take notice as I quietly slipped into the room and started to walk up behind him like the ninja I am. I jabbed my fingers into his neck and he fell to the ground, out-cold while I untied my gang and tried to ignore the police sirens that were getting closer.

"Come on," I went to the open window and glanced briefly at the backyard before throwing my long rope out. I tied it to something sturdy in the room and shoved Minnie towards it, "Go," I urged, glancing worriedly over my shoulder at the out-cold boy on the carpet.

"What about the diary?" Blessed asked quietly; I bit my lip and shook my head slightly with a hard, menacing look at the wall. She bowed her head and swiftly went down the rope while Ice and Bone helped me get the guy into what I guessed was his bed; we covered him with his blanket like he was sleeping the whole time. The boys went down the rope and waited for me to come out; I untied the rope again and threw it to the ground.

I glanced back as I sat on the window's edge and I studied the boy curiously; I'd seen him this morning at school in the hallway. He was the only one that looked at me without fear evident in his features; his very, very handsome features. His jaw was smooth and sturdy, his eyes were as dark as the night itself, his raven black hair fell into his perfect eyes perfectly, his nose was slightly crooked in a cute way making him look even more dangerous, and his lips looked plush and soft like how I wished my first kiss would be. Yes, I haven't kissed anyone before because I blocked everyone out as soon as I turned fifteen and I banned everyone out of my life. This included my best friends from preschool, from just being babies, but I had to keep everyone out to protect them and to make sure they weren't pulled into my business.

My head shook violently, jerkily and threw my legs over the edge of the side of the window and saw my new gang silently yelling at me. I rolled my eyes and stood to turn and shut the window behind me, and then I turned back and I finally jumped. Just like I planned, my feet hit the branch of the tree right under the window and I gripped the branch above it to keep me from slipping off. I jumped to the ground and grabbed onto Minnie's arm, dragging her and the rest of my gang into some prickly bushes. They hissed at the pain but I kept going, desperate to get out of here before that guy woke up and before the cops showed.

Not ten seconds after we all entered the bush, seven cop cars rammed through the propped-open gate door and drove towards the mansion. I began to dig my hands into the soil under the gate and tear at it to make a dip big enough for all of us to fit under one by one. The others quickly started to help; digging their hands into the dirt until there's a large dip going under the fence. Minnie goes first followed by Blessed and the boys; I slip under last and use the dirt to cover it up as best as I can with such little time.

"Come on!" we take off back into the woods side by side with them laughing freely, not caring they just broke into someone's house. Ice had made sure that the cameras switched off even if we were all wearing some kind of mask so no one could recognize us. It was late and I decided that my new gang had had enough for one night, at least so I had to call over the wind. "Go home and be at the warehouse Friday!" I call and break off from their sides to start to my own house. The others glanced at each other then split into different directions; I slowed to a walk, knowing no one was following me.

And I started towards the Hell hole I once called home.


	4. Chapter 4

_Try To Get Through, I Dare You_

_Four_

My sheets were twisted around my legs when I awoke, panting and looking around for the person that knocked me out. The teens I tied up were gone as well and I heard my dad and Valencia talking to the police downstairs, explaining what they knew. I threw my legs over the side of my new bed and changed into a navy green tight t-shirt, black jeans, and black combat boots. Valencia called for me just as I was brushing my teeth and towel-drying my soaking wet hair from my shower. I run my fingers through my now dry black hair so it flops easily into my eyes like the day before; I head downstairs towards the kitchen.

Last night I was woken up from a very small thump downstairs just to find two girls searching my bedroom for something. I hit the first one under the neck area with my emergency crowbar and she fell just as I hit her friend in the same place. Then I used the rope in my closet to tie both together and then I did the same with the three guys that were sneaking around in the hallway and into my dad's bedroom. They were more of a fight but I was stronger than them and I managed to tie them up to the girls until someone stabbed their fingers onto my neck and everything went black for a long while.

"Nick," my dad smiled slightly when I walked into the kitchen, but I didn't return it and instead looked around at the police officers crowding the kitchen. They were checking for prints but found nothing, not even a footprint from the mud that was outside last night. Angel was sitting on the kitchen counter with Valencia taking a look at her ankle, "She slipped through a thin board. Angel claims a girl with leather gloves helped her," Dad sighed tiredly and ran a hand through his own raven black hair.

I furrowed my eyebrows and strode over to Angel, taking her ankle into my hands while Valencia talks to a police officer. "What really happened, Ange? What did this girl look like?" I ask quietly, picking her up and taking her to the mudroom to rewrap her ankle and put some ice on it.

"Uh, blonde hair from what I could see when it slipped out of her hood, but she made me sleep before I could see anything else." She answers and hisses slightly as I place the ice pack on her ankle; I had it covered with a rag to make sure it wasn't too cold. I talked to Angel for a little while longer and tried my best to get some information out of her, but she remembered almost nothing.

"Mr. Ride, may we ask a few questions?" an officer stood in the doorway to the mudroom; I nodded and stood up. We walked out with Angel limping slightly; I gave her to Valencia and walked with the officer to another group of officers. "Sir, did you see the girl at all?" one asked, pulling a notepad out of her back-pocket; she pressed her pen to the page.

"No," I answer instantly and then answer the rest of their questions with short, two or three worded answers at most. They leave later with little information and Valencia jogs down to the basement, calling back about how she needed to grab something. "I have school," I say and grab my sunglasses and leather jacket before leaving without talking to my dad. In the garage, I revved my engine and slid on my jacket along with my black sunglasses; I threw my leg over the side and started out of the driveway.

When I got to school, I ignored the girls again and went into the building where Iggy was waiting for me at the front doors. Hew latched onto my arm and pulled me the opposite direction from my locker and instead he dragged me into the empty hallway. His other friends that I sat at lunch with- Nudge, Dylan, Sam, Ella, JJ, Tessa, Maya, Ratchet, Holden, Kate, and Star- were all waiting. They sat on the top of the table we sat at the day before; I wrinkled my nose at the sight of their butts on the places we were just eating the day before.

"I saw the police cars on my way to school this morning," Tessa hops off the table to walk closer, inspecting me for any scratches. "What happened, Fang?" the others asked along with her; I rolled my eyes at their practiced timing and took a seat at the table.

"Some people broke into my house last night, no big deal; no one got hurt," I shrugged loosely and they all glanced at each other. The door to the cafeteria swung open and Maximum Martinez herself strode into the room, barely giving us a second glance.

Iggy spoke before thinking, "Max!" he called and she snapped her head over in his direction, narrowing her eyes before realizing who it was. Her expression softened but not by much; I took in her tired appearance skeptically, wondering what was wrong with her life that put her through all of this.

"Hey, why don't you come hang with us?" Nudge called as Max turned to push into the kitchen, "We were just asking Fang what happened last night. Someone apparently broke into his house," she continues and they obviously didn't notice the way her back straightened slightly.

Max only shook her head and pushed into the kitchen, the door slamming shut behind her making an echo sound around the room. "It's so sad," Maya sighs, tearing her eyes away from the door, "Max shouldn't have to ignore us because of her family."

"You know Ms. Martinez," Ratchet agrees with a slight shrug, "she's just not right anymore now that Jeb walked out on them." I was utterly confused other than Max had family problems and Jeb, most likely her father, walked out on them and her mother was messed up.

Star pushed some blonde hair behind her ear, "I wish Max would just be herself again, she used to be so much fun."

JJ nodded her head, "Remember that time we went to the club and Max got three guys to jump into some old guy's pool just by giving them a look?" They laughed together and Kate just rolled her eyes at the story; Tessa looked down with envy flashing in her eyes.

"A look? That's all it took?" I asked incredulously; even a girl as gorgeous as Max couldn't just make some guys run and jump into a pool with a look. Dylan and Maya glanced at each other knowingly, they laughed under their breath even though I wasn't showing any emotion as always.

"No," JJ giggles, "She actually told them to dye their hair pink but they came up with a solution and Max gave them her look when they wouldn't agree. I almost died laughing," she tucked some dark brown hair behind her ear and pulled her legs against her chest. "Well we better get to class!" they all got up and left and I was about to follow when my phone fell from my pocket and slid under the table; I got down on my hands and knees to grab it.

Suddenly there was the sound of smashing glass, a curse was screamed, and then a woman with bright red hair comes stomping out of the kitchen. I scramble under the table as she comes out, screaming, "You ignorant child! You broke it and now you have to pay for it! This has always been all your fault! Everything has always been your fault!" she screeched.

"You think this is my fault?!" Max threw open the door to the kitchen, glanced around and then continued, "You're the one that had a child at sixteen like an idiot! You're the one that drove your stupid, slow car when it was snowing just to get some condoms and you took the twins with you! That wasn't my fault! That was your fault!"

The woman I supposed was Ms. Martinez yelled back, "You were always just a little bitch! A slave and a nobody! You don't even have any friends! You're a loner just like your father was!"

"Thanks to you I never got to spend time with my father! Thanks to you I had to give up my friends to keep them safe! You did this to me! You're such a whore! Going out with a different guy every week just to have your way! Having twelve abortions? That's sick, _Mom_!" Max spoke with a vengeance and I was intruding, but I couldn't leave now, they'd notice me.

Max's mom replied darkly, "Bern is coming over tonight, enjoy," she hissed and Max flinched noticeably as her mother stalked back into the kitchen. After a few seconds of staring into space, Max covered her face with her hands and left the cafeteria to head to class.

I blinked as the late bell rang; I stood up and jogged to my next class, thinking about the argument for the rest of the day. Iggy and Nudge tried to talk to me during lunch and the classes we had but I was too far into space to even try and listen. Max passed me a few times in the hallway; she would always give me these side looks but she never tried to talk to me. I didn't utter a word to her even if I wanted so badly to try and get her to open up to me and show me the real Max everyone was talking about this morning. So I came up with a plan.


	5. Chapter 5

_Try To Get Through, I Dare You_

_Five_

After school I was walking home when a motorcycle screeched to a stop in front of me on the sidewalk; I was ready to cuss the person out until they pulled off their helmet. Nicholas Ride sat on the ninja motorcycle looking as smug as ever as if it's normal for him to ride up in front of girls and smirk at them. I hiked my bag farther up on my shoulder and glanced around to see if anyone saw this going on, thankfully only a few other people walk home the same way. They barely looked over at us as they passed, engaged in whatever they were doing on their phones or in the conversation they were having with a friend.

"Can I help you?" I shove my hands into my ripped jeans pockets while Nicholas looks around as well, flipping his perfect hair out of his perfect eyes. I noticed the holes in his jeans' knees, how his dark green t-shirt hugged his eight pack of abs perfectly, and how his black leather jacket was completely unzipped to show off his abs.

He smirked and held out the helmet, "Get on, I want to show you something," he said and I stared at him like he was utterly insane. "I know this is weird and unsettling but I need to talk to you about something," he says as if this was all completely understandable.

"I don't know you," I state and go to move around him but he reaches out and just barely grabs my wrist but enough to get me to stop and wait. Sometimes I wonder what I was getting myself into with these kinds of situations; no one talks to me let alone asks me to go somewhere with them. This could lead me into getting my friends back or it could lead to me getting hurt badly and not being the great, indestructible Maximum Martinez.

Nicholas grins and replies, "Well let's start, I'm Fang," he says and holds out his hand; I reluctantly take it and I shake his hand. I bite down on my bottom lip again just as he says, "Stop doing that and come on, before we miss it," a smile almost slips across my lips but I shove it back down again quickly. "Give me one chance, Max," he says and holds out the helmet again; I tie my hair up into a messy ponytail quickly.

"Fine, you've got one chance," I sigh and buckle the helmet under my chin; I swing my leg over the back seat of his awesome motorcycle. My arms wind around his waist and I press my legs against his sides; he revved the engine and pulls back out onto the deserted road.

We take off, Fang showing off by doing a wheelie and making me clutch onto him tighter; his chuckle made me shake. I had no idea why I trusted this guy but this just felt so right for some off reason; I haven't felt this was since, well… ever. With the wind blowing against the helmet I felt closed off like I was flying but with restraints holding me down some. I placed my head beside his and I could see him smiling with his hair flying back and his fingers tightening and untightening on the handles. I leaned back again when I felt him tense under my gaze; I kept my arms around him but loosely; he didn't seem to want to try and throw me off.

My arms tightened again when he turned onto a rocky road and sprayed the rocks everywhere; he chuckles again. We spray through the woods at an agonizing speed until he comes to a stop in a large yellow and green grass field. I got off first, setting his helmet on the seat before letting my blonde hair loose from my ponytail, and I shook it out. Fang got off and gently grabbed my bicep; he wordlessly pulled me towards the cliff edge that stared out at the darkening sky. I sat down in the grass, not saying anything, and pulling my knees to my chest to wrap my arms around them and set my chin on my right knee.

"Why did you want to bring me here?" I ask as he lies down beside me and folds his arms behind his head; I glance over at him.

He says quietly, "Who's Bern?" I immediately tense up and stare at him, my eyes wide.

"Where the Hell did you here that name?" my voice shakes a little; he barely looks over at me.

"I was in the cafeteria, Max, what is he doing to you?" he asks.

"Nothing, my mom was just using her buff boyfriend as a statement. She didn't mean anything, she never does."

"You're lying," he states.

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are. So your mom calling you a bitch is completely normal?"

"Yeah, we have our arguments and that just happened to be one of them."

"What about her calling you a slave, Max? Does that happen a lot? Does your mom always call you a loner? Does she always scream at you and threaten you?"

"Why were you ever listening?! It was none of your business and it still isn't! Take me back or I'll just walk!" I stood up angrily; Fang jumps to his feet, grabs my arm, and makes me face the sky again just as the sun started to go down.

"It's okay to show emotion sometimes, Max," Fang mutters before letting me go and throwing his leg back over his motorcycle. I get on behind him and he drops me off in front of my old, torn apart house where all the lights are on.

"Shit," I mumble and start to get off but Fang grabs my hand; his eyes showed he was sorry but his expression was hard. "What now? I'm already late enough."

"You can stay at my place tonight, until your mom calms down," he suggests, begging me with his eyes and I was so close to giving in until.

"Maxie, your mommy wants you, right now!" Lisa, Bern's daughter, waves from the open front door; I wince and look over my shoulder at the fire-red haired girl. "Wow, is that Nicky? Hey, I've been trying to talk to you," Lisa skips down the stairs and starts to try and get Fang to talk to her. I shove my hands in my pockets and I walk slowly up my porch steps and into the house; my mom and Bern were waiting for me.

"Hey, honey, how was your night?" Mom grits through her teeth and drags my jacket off of my shoulders; Bern grins at the sight of my thin tank-top. "Finish it off, Bern, baby," Mommy dearest cackles as Bern grabs me roughly and shoves me onto the ground. He takes off his belt and flips me over onto my stomach; his leather belt whips across my back harshly and I take it all.

When my mom told me it was my fault my siblings were dead when I was younger, I believed her and I blamed myself. Now when any of her boyfriend's become abusive I take it for my younger siblings, I take it for the life I let myself go through, and I take it to see if it will help my mom like me anymore. It never works to just give in, she likes the fight the best like it's wrestling on TV and it's not her daughter and current boyfriend. The belt hits my back again and I finally let a cry escape my lips; Lisa and my mom watch amusedly as it hurts me more and more every time. He flips me over and rips open my already shredded tank; he slams his boot down on my stomach hard enough to hurt but not hard enough to permanently puncturing something vital.

It was all over and soon I was limping and hauling my body up the stairs and into my pathetic excuse for a bedroom. I ran some back water and threw a mirror down onto my tiled bathroom floor; I slipped out of the rest of my clothes. Then I made sure the door was locked before sliding into the tub with a shard of mirror pierced between my thumb and forefinger. I pressed the tip against my skin and drew another cut from one side of my inside wrist to the other; my leather bracelet would always be there to cover it. I do this three more times and I watch each drop of blood land in my soapy bath water before harshly shoving my hand back under the water.

I bit down on my bottom lip and stood from the water; I switched on the shower water and let the stained red water of the tub drain out. Then I washed my hair and body and switched the water off again; I wrapped a towel around my body and changed into the pajamas I put out on the counter of the sink. I changed into the silk black polka dotted white short-shorts and the long-sleeved tight dark blue wool top with too-long sleeves so I could stick my thumbs through the holes embedded in the cuffs. My wet hair slicked back into a ponytail, I walk back into my bedroom, ignoring the throbbing pain in my stomach.

Then I slide up my window and sit down on the edge of the roof that juts out from under my window; I live in the attic, after all. Down in the driveway Fang still sat on his motorcycle; he looked up and grinned when he saw where I was. He gives me the 'call me' sign then drives off into the darkening sky; I frown and crawl back into my bedroom. I go through all of my pockets but I don't find a slip of paper anywhere, then I look down at the back of my non-cut hand. There, in black sharpie was a cell phone number, bright as day; I roll my eyes and climb into my bed. Suddenly, I felt a little bit better, knowing Fang still wanted to talk to me after today.


	6. Chapter 6

_Try To Get Through, I Dare You_

_Six_

"Bye," I dodge my mom on my way down the stairs and I practically sprint out the front-door and down the street. She calls after me about her cold breakfast, but I'm already out the door and heading towards town on foot. Bern shouts as well at the noise my mom is making and I hear her curse him out and then a door slamming shut. I just continued on my walk, shoving my hands into my pockets and staring at the sidewalk under my ratty high-tops.

It's Friday and my gang was supposed to come to the warehouse tonight since I had to reschedule last night's meeting. But right now I have to go to my job, well one of my jobs I mean; someone has to help pay the bills because of my mom's drinking and smoking addictions. When the small bell attached to the hospital door rings out, I flinch slightly and fix my leather bracelet to make sure it covered all of my cuts from last night. JJ looks up from the front counter with a smile, but I only walk past her and into the employee's only room; she follows. She waits as I step behind the curtain and pull on the stupid black pencil skirt, white blouse, and white 4inch heels.

"Morning, Max, how was your night?" JJ asks as I step back out and fix my hair in the mirror on the wall; I glance at her briefly. All of the teenager nurses were assigned to the same outfits except you get to pick your own colors of the same things. JJ had a light pink blouse, dark blue pencil skirt, and knee-high hot pink heeled boots; she once told me they were more comfortable than the regular heels when we were still friends.

"Fine, bye," I say and slam my assigned locker shut; I walk past her and go into the elevator for the top floor. My job is to take care of any of the little kids that are brought in and have to stay overnight or permanently. I've always had a soft-spot for kids and this was much better than the job I had to snag at the town's club as a bartender.

Judie, a four-year-old, got in the day before with a broken leg was now in a wheelchair with Tessa rolling her around. All of the girls in my old group- Tessa, JJ, Maya, Ella, Nudge, Kate, and Star- wanted to get jobs with me even if they're already filthy rich. Maya and Ella quit soon after but the rest of us stayed and I was forever stuck around my past until I could head to college when the year finally ended. I pass my old friend and walk into a room I was assigned to earlier last night when my boss texted me all the information. This little boy happened to be seven-years-old and he had severe damage done to his ribs; I winced at my own throbbing stomach.

"Hi," a small voice said from behind me while I was checking my email on the small computer on one side of the room. I turn in my wheeling chair to see the little boy, Ari, sitting up and wincing every time he moved his torso.

"Stop," I got up and came over to him to gently pull his shirt over his head and inspect the damage on his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut as I ran my cool fingers over his burning skin; I frown and press a damp cloth to the bruise forming on his front. "What happened?" I asked quietly and stood to walk over to the doctor's desk and check his papers; there was nothing on his situation. He shrugs slightly but doesn't seem to want to say anything; I sit down on the edge of his bed so he has to look me in the eyes. "You can tell me, okay? I won't even tell the others if you don't want me to, but I know you want to say it, so you can. Everything will be safe with me."

Ari nods slowly and then he replies, "My daddy got mad and punched me," he hangs his head and pulls his shirt back on. I'm still in shock when he falls asleep with his small body tangled and wrapped in the scratchy hospital blankets.

"Max!" JJ comes to a screeching halt in the doorway, panting with sweat beading and rolling down her cheeks and neck. "Dr. Kennedy needs you! It's Judie, she's calling for you!" she pants; I'm already running down the hallway and bursting into the room Judie shares with her friend, Lilia.

Dr. James Kennedy, also known as my boss, was standing over a crumpled Judie as he tries to give her some knockout gas. She had tears pouring down her cheeks and I knew she was in immense pain where she landed on her leg the wrong way. I rush over and whisper to her as the mask is placed over her face and she falls unconscious in my arms. Dr. Kennedy and I lift Judie onto her hospital bed and he gets to work on breaking her leg again then wrapping it up. I know how bad it hurts to get your leg broken the wrong way so the doctors have to break it again; the pain doesn't go away for weeks.

My boss lets me go home early, but instead I head to my next job at the club; I get to leave at eight tonight. Carl, my huge boss, shines yellow and brown teeth at me as I push through the door in my usual clothes, finally. He jerks his head towards the bar and I tie a black apron around my waist before stepping behind the counter. A couple of my usual customers step into the club, knowing good and well I would be working at the moment. I recognize Bone as soon as he steps through the door behind the small crowd; they all come over to the bar.

"Trouble nine o'clock," my older partner, Sarah, mutters to me under her breath; I nod slightly to tell her I heard. The group takes up half the seats at the bar and they start calling out their orders, knowing I'd catch every one of them. I make drink after drink and pass them out to the usual people; just another night except this time Bone was here.

I left around ten and walked through the backwoods and into the small field I always come by when I leave from my house. My waitressing job was on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Saturday's; bartending was on Monday nights, Tuesday nights, and Friday nights; and my trainee-nurse job was every day of the week for three to four hours. When I get to the warehouse I'm not surprised to find the gang waiting for me; we started to head inside when Bone decided to join us. "Next time," I growl after punching him in the nose, "you won't get so lucky. I don't want to see you in my bar, and I want you to make sure you're on time next time. You're lucky I don't kill you on the spot."

He wipes blood from under his nose and looks up at me, "Yes, Ninja," he sighs and stalks into the warehouse; they agreed to wait and let me tell them my real name when I trust them enough. I slam the warehouse doors shut behind all of us and I use my lighter to start up the lanterns in corners and all along the walls.

"What are we doing tonight? A robbery? Back to that mansion to get some revenge?" Ice asks slowly, but Minnie was practically squealing on the spot. I shake my head and smirk, leading them upstairs and into my practice room; they have yet to see everything I've hidden in this warehouse from when I was thirteen up to now.

They all looked around and gasped audibly, "Let's get started!" I clapped my hands together and pulled Copper onto the large blue mat.

*TWO HOURS LATER*

"Get up!" I kicked him on the side of his knee and wiped some sweat off of my forehead; Ice got up with my hand. "Okay, you guys have tomorrow off to rest, but then we have a little mission to do," my eyes sparkled as I left the warehouse. I walk home through the woods again but end up across the street instead; I furrow my eyebrows and go to turn around when someone grabs me. The unusually strong grip tightens when I fight to pull away and kick this guy's ass.

"Stop," he growled lowly and kept tugging me through the woods and into a field filled with moonlight and familiar people. Fang, Maya, Nudge, Iggy, Angel, Gazzy, Kate, Ratchet, Holden, Dylan, JJ, Tessa, and Star all stand around me in a circle. Of course Fang was the only one that I let drag me out here in the middle of the night; I look around as if not very impressed by all of this.

Nudge speaks first, "We want to help you out, Max," her brown eyes plead with me to give in and talk but I remain silent. I've wanted this moment for the past two or three years, but now all I wanted was to get home before my mom wakes up to call Bern in one of her pre-breakup fits. If she gets up for ice-cream and passes my open bedroom door, she'll see I'm not there and then I'll get more than just a few bruises and slashes.

"Max, I've been your friend since kindergarten and you can't even look at me," Iggy says from the right of me. I just barely glance at his hurt expression before looking down, pressing my lips tighter against themselves. There was a reason for everything I was doing, but they just wouldn't understand no matter how I tried to explain it to them. Fang seemed to fit perfectly, but I was an outcast and the reason for my siblings deaths; this I was almost positive of.


End file.
